“This Turkish airline was overflying India on its way from Bangkok to Istanbul”.
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Local reports suggest that a threat message, “bomb in cargo” was written on the mirror of the flight’s toilet using a lipstick. “The Pilot was alerted who requested for an emergency landing”, Choubey said. When contacted, the Nagpur Air Traffic Controller guided the flight to Delhi.
No explosive has been found so far, said the sources.
The daily added that apart from a thorough check of the baggage, Indian intelligence and security officials also questioned the passengers about the incident.
CISF Director General Surender Singh has briefed Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the situation. “The ATC directed the pilot to approach the Delhi ATC”, sources said.
The flight was on its way from Bangkok to Istanbul with 134 passengers onboard when someone saw a bomb threat written on the windowpane of the toilet.
After some urgent discussions, the Captain of the Turkish airline calling was told to land instead at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi airport since it was a bit closer than Nagpur. “The plane is in an isolated bay, and routine checks are going on”, the minister said. “Furthermore, precautions have been taken for towing the aircraft out of its current place, and this is now in progress”.
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A total of 144 passengers and 13 crew members were present in the flight. All the passengers deboarded and the cargo was off-loaded in the presence of bomb-disposal squads.
